One of the biggest benefits of living on a farm (other than the privacy) is the unlimited space available to plant a vegetable garden. I am far from a gardener - in fact, I don't like to garden at all. With little patience and a fear of most insects, gardening is pretty much my biggest nightmare. However, there's something about my veggie garden that lours me in. I find myself walking around barefoot checking on my peppers like they are my children. I get this weird thrill when I see fresh fruits and vegetables growing just outside my back door. FREE FOOD?! Yup, I'll take it! 
For the last 3 years my husband and I have been experimenting growing different types of produce. This year we planted 5 new crops (pumpkins, watermelons, green peppers, hot peppers and tomatoes) while keeping a few the same (green peas, lettuce, green beans, carrots and fresh herbs). We also have an enormous amount of blackberry bushes that have had an incredible year. We ended up with so many berries we had to pon them off onto friends. 
Our hot peppers are doing so well. I was at a get together this weekend and had homemade stuffed jalapenos. They had the perfect amount of spice to them because the seeds were removed. I will be trying out a similar recipe this weekend and will post the results.
It looks like we are going to end up with about 6-10 good sized pumpkins this year. Last Halloween I saved 6 seeds from our jack-o-lanterns. It's amazing how much they have grown.
I was nervous to grow green peppers since I heard that they don't do well with wind - - and apparently I live in a wind tunnel. Green peppers are looking amazing! They'll be ready to go within the week. Yum! 
There are currently about 8 watermelons and I'm fairly certain we'll have more. Watermelons can be hit and miss at the store - fingers crossed these ones don't have that gross sandy texture.What a summer it has been - Sunny, hot and VERY humid. An awesome summer for the garden, a not so awesome summer for a teacher home from work for two months with no A/C. I cannot complain though - - two months filled with visits with friends and family, cooking and adventures. ugh... back to school I go...
* Apologies for the grammatical errors throughout this blog - Rest assure I am not an English teacher ;)
3 comments:
Jill -
I love your veggie photos - you are so lucky to have the land, good soil, sun and good tending - to produce such a crop. Lucky you!
~Nina
Thanks for the tour last night Jill, it was great to see all of the tasty things that you are growing!
For someone who hates gardening and bugs Jill, your garden is totally amazing. I was so impressed with the growth and produce.(You may want to begin preserving--just a little motherly thought Jill). I have DEVOURED your delicious tomatoes and green peppers. Maybe the running and screaming when bees appear help the growth--it may be a native growth dance of sorts. Who knows??
Love you,
Mom
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